{"id":272442,"date":"2025-09-24T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/?p=272442"},"modified":"2025-09-24T09:38:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T13:38:49","slug":"spirit-of-the-week-michters-us1-toasted-barrel-finish-sour-mash-whiskey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/food-drink\/spirit-of-the-week-michters-us1-toasted-barrel-finish-sour-mash-whiskey\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit Of The Week: Michter’s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash Whiskey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Michters Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile we use time-tested, traditional Kentucky methods to make Michter’s, our production team is always experimenting and always searching for innovations,\u201d Joe Magliocco reveals to Maxim<\/em>. Honored to have the time of the always busy Michter’s Distillery President, we asked him as craft whiskey-makers built on a strong foundation of tradition, how they balance that dedication with still finding ways to innovate. In this case, with the Louisville-based distillery\u2019s newest use of their \u2018Toasted Barrel Finish\u2019 process:  Michter’s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we got the idea in 2014 to finish Michter’s US*1 Bourbon in a second barrel that had been toasted but not charred, <\/em>and when we coined the phrase “Toasted Barrel Finish” we had no idea that it would be the start of a new category,\u201d Magliocco adds. \u201cOver time we saw that finishing in a second, toasted but not charred barrel introduced wonderful flavor components not just to our bourbon but to our Barrel Strength Rye and to our Sour Mash Whiskey as well. It’s very exciting for us to see people enjoying the toasted barrel finish whiskeys that are now on the market.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by @boozeoftheday<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n

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The concept is simple, but offered explosive results. As mentioned above, it was in 2014 that Michter\u2019s first thought of using these innovative barrels as a second finish on their award-winning bourbon. Credited with being the first American whiskey to use this toasted barrel finish technique, the Michter\u2019s team first preps the wood by air-drying the staves for 18 to 24 months, or even longer for some releases. While more expensive and time-consuming than kiln-drying, this air-drying reduces astringent compounds in the wood, resulting in a smoother flavor. They are then toasted using a specific, proprietary heat profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they are never charred like most barrels; charring involves an intense, high-temperature flame licking the wood, while toasting uses a more gentle heat over a longer period. This patient process caramelizes the wood sugars and breaks down flavor compounds, bringing them to the surface, amplifying the secondary barrel\u2019s effect on the already mature whiskey poured in.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Michter’s followed up their US*1 Bourbon Toasted Barrel Finish with applying the unique finish to their Rye in 2017, and now for 2025 introduce that treatment to their lesser known but also award-winning Sour Mash expression. A worthy candidate, given their original Sour Mash was the first American whiskey to ever be named \u2018Whisky of the Year\u2019 by The Whisky Exchange (it also scored a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Michter’s does not disclose the exact mash bill of their Sour Mash, since it is not labeled a \u2018bourbon\u2019 we can infer that the recipe does not satisfy the 51% corn requirement, nor 51% rye since it does not fall under their \u2018rye\u2019 umbrella. The rest is anyone\u2019s guess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe [toasting] process itself allows for the different compounds present in the wood to be extracted at different levels,\u201d Michter’s Master Distiller Dan McKee shares with us, noting how it was Michter’s former Master Distiller Willie Pratt who led the first toasted barrel research in 2014. The exact heat\/toasting profile for the barrels is not the same for every Toasted Barrel Finish expression, however. For this one, in which Michter’s popular Sour Mash whiskey was poured, had its own toasting recipe.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are almost an infinite number of toast profiles that one can try, and each one will yield a different result when used in a toasted-only barrel to finish a whiskey,\u201d McKee continues. \u201cWhen we decide what toasted-only barrel to use, our production team strives to find the specific toast profile best-suited to the particular whiskey that we are finishing. In the case of our Michter’s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash, burnt sugar as well as spice notes with smoky vanilla come to the forefront.\u201d These flavors compliment and magnify the original Sour Mash\u2019s notes of caramel and marshmallow which brought it so much acclaim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The limited release Michter\u2019s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash comes bottled 43-percent ABV (86 proof), with a SRP of $110<\/a>. If you can find a bottle, score it quick.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow our Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at\u00a0@nickstecher\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0@boozeoftheday<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Louisville’s finest applies their unique toasted barrels to their Whiskey of the Year.","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":272443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_comments":false,"tpd_coauthor":[],"tpd_feed_delay":{"delay_type":"default"},"is_tpd_lists_single_post":false,"tpd_featured_posts_arr":"","tpd_franchise_content":"","hide_featured_img_single_post":true,"msn_featured_video":[],"_msn_custom_title":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-09-24T09:30:12Z","apple_news_api_id":"46540663-bc33-4c42-995d-f85700bc197d","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-09-24T13:38:47Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ARlQGY7wzTEKZXfhXALwZfQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"tpd_featured_video":[],"tpd_sponsored_post_logo":"","tpd_sponsored_post_logo_link":"","tpd_sponsored_post_logo_width":0,"tpd_sponsored_enable_nofollow":true,"tpd_disable_incontent_ads":false,"tpd_disable_right_rail_ads":false,"tpd_disable_after_content_ads":false,"tpd_disable_header_ads":false,"tpd_disable_sticky_footer_ads":false,"tpd_disable_video_ads":false,"tpd_disable_outbrain":false,"tpd_affiliate_disclaimer":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,75],"tags":[2312,19805,50],"coauthor":[],"feeds":[],"class_list":["post-272442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-drink","category-news","tag-michters","tag-spirit-of-the-week","tag-whiskey"],"apple_news_notices":[],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Michters_Toasted-Sour-Mash_lifestyle-428x267.jpg","coauthors":[],"primary_category":{"term_id":43,"name":"Food & Drink","slug":"food-drink","taxonomy":"category","url":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/food-drink\/"},"fimg_url_thumb":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Michters_Toasted-Sour-Mash_lifestyle-428x267.jpg","featured_img_medium":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Michters_Toasted-Sour-Mash_lifestyle-788x444.jpg","author_name":"Nicolas Stecher","author_avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86eca8d1d406e8daafa1be549d6051cb657139d948226b0ccebc25c83a19b5c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_link":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/author\/nicolas-stecher\/","post_categories":["Food & Drink"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272442"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272546,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272442\/revisions\/272546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272442"},{"taxonomy":"coauthor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthor?post=272442"},{"taxonomy":"feeds","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feeds?post=272442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}